Kimi himself has said recently that the team needs to improve and they need more pace. And that is mostly what people are complaining about.

But Kimi did not complain.

Kimi says it as a matter of fact. But some fans just take out all their frustrations on the team. Why can't they do this? What's wrong with them? Why can't they develop the car like McLaren? Red Bull does this, that! Constant whinging. Kimi certainly does not act like that. He is balanced. He knows what he got into and he knows what the team is and isn't capable of.

Boullier himself has said that they have diverted too much resources into the device, comprising their other other updates and that is the other thing that people have complained about, so Boullier himself admitted that they have made the wrong decision.

Not exactly. Boullier said he does not want to be like that in future. He said the DDRS may have taken the resources "a bit more". Did not say they made a big blunder and had fallen off big time unrecoverably by big-diversion. Little bit of diversion happens with every team. Every team fails more than succeeding on the updates they try and evaluate. Personally I think Ferrari has equal or more failed updates than Lotus. All teams do this. It's not like they were sitting idle about other things. They have also pursued along other lines, and by their own words are planning to test so many things that they have to postpone a few things like DDRS in order to not have them all mixed up. Certainly they are making lot of efforts.

Boullier has placed himself in a position where he will always be questioned by deciding to be a team principle and a driver's manager, he could have just been a team principle like most of the others on grid but he choose not to be.

Frankly this is Kimi fans' paranoia. I haven't seen anything from Boullier for a long time that suggests he may have conflicting interests. I myself believe team manager shouldn't be personal driver manager either. But it is the fault of F1 in not regulating it. Since that is not happening, it is better to focus on things at hand, instead of constantly cooking up stories. What has Boullier done recently to bring up this conflict of interests thing?

People are not complaining about every single thing that Lotus does, that is just exaggeration.

I specifically said some fans. Yes, those some fans complain about everything.

On the otherhand we also constantly have to hear complains about Kimi's qualifying issues for example. Yesterday again people were quick to complain about Kimi's mistake. Which is perfectly fair, but the situation does go both ways everything is free game.

I agree. Alan Permane is top-class idiot.

The team has improved a little bit this year and one could commend them for it but right now they are basically making the same mistake as they last year, and without Kimi they wouldn't have been in the position that they are in this year. They may be a midfield team but surely any team in F1 is there to improve and to try and win, and to and become better. Williams have certainly also improved a lot from last year but people barely registers it because of their drivers, and Sauber is also a team with low resources, who are able to stay very competitive. If you dont look at what you are doing wrong then you will never improve.

That is not the point of discussion. Lotus has improved from the past year, even from the year before. This is arguably their best year since 2006. They have improved a lot, and as I said they have 'per unit amount of resources' they have achieved more than any other team. The question is can they continue along this line, and become a better and bigger team. There is no reason to think not. The team has the DNA. They have done great things in the past (1994-1996, 2003-2006)

I felt it was more relating to the fact that the team didn't have the proper Friday running to do a good race setup. I think Kimi was having an issues with the rear tiers going away after few laps, unlikely that this related to the f/w.

Don´t wanna complain as they talked nice about Kimi! But does someone know the time of his in- and outlap at the second stop?

One point of focus however would have to be uncharacteristically slow in / out laps either side of the Finn’s second pit stop which – although not aided by a slow wheel change – possibly cost him a position to Lewis Hamilton.

Just checked the Sky F1 show and Lotus were in 6th position prior to Suzuka, behind McLaren, Ferrari, RedBull, Mercedes and Toro Rosso.

I didn't notice particularly slow in/out laps but i suppose Lotus must know, still have to watch the race again and see if their 3.1 second stop matches up with what the screen showed.

The pitstops look worse than they really are,mainly down to Mclaren being impossibly good at their stops.

Ill agree on the second stop being slow though..1.5 secs slower than Hamilton's stop was a little too much..imagine if they were only 0.5 sec down instead of 1.5 KR wouldve gotten out in front of Hamilton..not saying this wouldve changed anything but still

holy crap ... was it traffic or lotus of kimi caught 'Eating tire syndrome' from mercedes???

but i think lack of high fuel run (and thus improper setup) and imbalance due to bits missing from front wing may have caused high tire degradation. he was constantly hunted down by nico's Force India till the end.

Kimi himself has said recently that the team needs to improve and they need more pace. And that is mostly what people are complaining about. Boullier himself has said that they have diverted too much resources into the device, comprising their other other updates and that is the other thing that people have complained about, so Boullier himself admitted that they have made the wrong decision. Boullier has placed himself in a position where he will always be questioned by deciding to be a team principle and a driver's manager, he could have just been a team principle like most of the others on grid but he choose not to be. Briatore was in the same position and people also questioned his motives on a continues basis. Those are the things that people have been questioning and it is valid. People are not complaining about every single thing that Lotus does, that is just exaggeration. Lotus had a slow pitstop today and no one complained it.But this is generally what people do on forums everyone has different opinions and just because people support the same driver doesn't mean they all have to fall in line and have the same opinions about the team he is driving for.

On the otherhand we also constantly have to hear complains about Kimi's qualifying issues for example. Yesterday again people were quick to complain about Kimi's mistake. Which is perfectly fair, but the situation does go both ways everything is free game. The team has improved a little bit this year and one could commend them for it but right now they are basically making the same mistake as they last year, and without Kimi they wouldn't have been in the position that they are in this year. They may be a midfield team but surely any team in F1 is there to improve and to try and win, and to and become better. Williams have certainly also improved a lot from last year but people barely registers it because of their drivers, and Sauber is also a team with low resources, who are able to stay very competitive. If you dont look at what you are doing wrong then you will never improve.

thats a good post Intelligentsia.Ill add a little to a few points though..

Yes,Boullier will be under the spotlight as there may be a possible conflict of interest here because of his role as RG's manager...but what i think is we should give him the benefit of the doubt until we see something blatantly biased from him or read any solid news report indicating he is favouring the Frenchman.He is a controversial character to say the least but i personally havent seen anything uptil now that would indicate he isnt giving KR equal status,

I completely agree on the moaning bit..i cant see how anyone can think that here has been a lot of complaining/conspiracy theory on this thread..there hasnt been much..infact much much more civil than what i expected...one or two posters were probably involved in this but they've quitened too since some time..and also like u said,difference of opinion will always exist..Nobody has the right to come here and tell x,y,z to stop expressing their opinions.

There is also no denying that Lotus have fallen back in the Development race..They allocated most of their races towards the DDRS path which as it turned out was useless atleast for the current season..and all of it cant be blamed on the fact that Lotus doesnt have the resources that Ferrari/Mclaren and RB have..Sauber for example is an even smaller team and yet they seem to be improving weekend after weekend..

Also,the Kimi/Lotus situations works both ways..KR's consistency has made it possible for them to actually compete for the 3rd spot on the WCC table..but then they also provided KR with the opportunity to race in a car that was pretty quick in the first half of the season..If Renault hadnt signed him,he wouldve most probably landed in Williams,a team which is way below Lotus in the standings right now

Well his tires were absolutely shot before first stop, and he rejoined in heavy traffic. Dont know about the second inlap, tyres gone perhaps, but the second outlap is slower by about the difference in stoppage time.

thats a good post Intelligentsia.Ill add a little to a few points though..

Yes,Boullier will be under the spotlight as there may be a possible conflict of interest here because of his role as RG's manager...but what i think is we should give him the benefit of the doubt until we see something blatantly biased from him or read any solid news report indicating he is favouring the Frenchman.He is a controversial character to say the least but i personally havent seen anything uptil now that would indicate he isnt giving KR equal status,

I completely agree on the moaning bit..i cant see how anyone can think that here has been a lot of complaining/conspiracy theory on this thread..there hasnt been much..infact much much more civil than what i expected...one or two posters were probably involved in this but they've quitened too since some time..and also like u said,difference of opinion will always exist..Nobody has the right to come here and tell x,y,z to stop expressing their opinions.

There is also no denying that Lotus have fallen back in the Development race..They allocated most of their races towards the DDRS path which as it turned out was useless atleast for the current season..and all of it cant be blamed on the fact that Lotus doesnt have the resources that Ferrari/Mclaren and RB have..Sauber for example is an even smaller team and yet they seem to be improving weekend after weekend..

Also,the Kimi/Lotus situations works both ways..KR's consistency has made it possible for them to actually compete for the 3rd spot on the WCC table..but then they also provided KR with the opportunity to race in a car that was pretty quick in the first half of the season..If Renault hadnt signed him,he wouldve most probably landed in Williams,a team which is way below Lotus in the standings right now

i think media have replace "kimi's lack of motivation" with "kimi's lack of maximizing car's potential in qually". bar the Q3 cock-up in japan, most of kimi's qually down performance is due to something not working quiet right in most weekends, from KERS to Differential to steering wheel to tire characteristics. he needs to have a trouble free weekend.

Coanda exhaust and accompanying rear body modifications coming to Korea. Kimi's title race should get some much needed boost. go LotusF1!!!

James Allison

What do we have new on the car for Korea? We’ve been ploughing something of a lonely furrow on the circuit with our relatively straightforward, power-maximizing exhaust. However, since well before the launch of the E20 and to the present day we’ve been carrying out parallel developments in our wind tunnel programme based around a Coandă effect exhaust. Once we saw the potential gain of the Coandă system surpass that of our current design it was clear that we needed to implement it, both for the benefit we could get in the last quarter of this season and also for learning experience it presents us for next year. We will run our first version of this style of exhaust in Korea.

Are there a lot of changes involved with the Coandă system? It is not as big a deal as the 2011 style blown exhausts. Last year (for all teams, but especially for our forward exhausts) it was quite challenging to ensure that the exhausts did not set fire to the car. The Coandă system is a little more indirect, and the jet has cooled a little before it impinges on the floor which makes things a little easier to manage. There’s still a fair amount of rearrangement including new Coke panels, new exhausts, new exhaust exit panels, some fireproofing of the floor and so on. All told, it’s a biggish change rather than an enormous one. It’s also easier to swap to and fro for evaluation.

We’ve been ploughing something of a lonely furrow on the circuit with our relatively straightforward, power-maximizing exhaust. However, since well before the launch of the E20 and to the present day we’ve been carrying out parallel developments in our wind tunnel programme based around a Coandă effect exhaust. Once we saw the potential gain of the Coandă system surpass that of our current design it was clear that we needed to implement it, both for the benefit we could get in the last quarter of this season and also for learning experience it presents us for next year. We will run our first version of this style of exhaust in Korea.

All the teams that have won races saw 'the potential gain surpass traditional exhausts' 7 months ago. I wouldn't exactly be broadcasting that I've been scratching my head since the start of the year wondering why other teams find coanda preferential to standard exhaust and then have a eureka! moment 7 months later.

surprisingly, Italian "Autosprint" mag took Kimi’s side in the accident with Alonso

There would be no way to do it differently. Alonso gambled hard squeezing kimi, when kimi went to the grass because of the ferrari and steered back in the track fernando payed the price. But I wouldn't bash Alonso much either. Just an error.

There would be no way to do it differently. Alonso gambled hard squeezing kimi, when kimi went to the grass because of the ferrari and steered back in the track fernando payed the price. But I wouldn't bash Alonso much either. Just an error.

Agreed, just a racing incident really. Nobody did anything 'wrong' in my view, just Kimi being perhaps a bit harder than he usually is. But then he should be, he hasn't got anything to lose and has to take more risks.

“We know we can count on the strongest driver around at the moment and it’s only mistakes from others at Spa and again at Suzuka, that have prevented him from having a more comfortable lead over his rivals,

who cares what montezuma says ... atleast the drivers acknowledge what kimi is ... a fair determined driver with no dirty tricks

here's hamilton's take on the overtaking at suzuka

“We had a bit of a battle,” Hamilton said. “We have got lots of history me and Kimi so I felt he was good through the first corner. You know he is very, very fair.

“A fantastic driver so I am glad I had a fight with him.

“The tyres weren’t going off I was still fine,” he added. “That lap that I came in the last time, when I was racing with Kimi, I said to the team ‘my tyres are fine, I want to continue,’ but they wanted to bring me in.

“It was obviously the right call though, we had a good battle with Kimi in the first corner. The guys did a fantastic job in the pitstops, just a little bit strange car behaviour this weekend.”

This reaction was simply astonishing. He could have cut hamilton more in the corner but he choose not. It would be risky as they would ended their races. So kudos to kimi in his reflexes and hamilton in his courage.

Why bother to upload the video, doesnt seem like a stunt, seems a little bizarre.I wonder if he's going to go back to rallying or something?Kimi makes me laugh with his comments at Japan, i must admit i used to find him a bit annoying but his attitude is very refreshing and funny.

No. Its just a PR stunt. Probably he will sign some sponsor contract or something. He will stay at Lotus.

That Kimi is a fair driver is not in question - not even in Alonso's head. Alonso and Monti know that Kimi couldn't have done much else short of lifting for a car cutting across and spoiling his own race in the process.

They are just frustrated because they thought they had the title in the bag even with the car that is mediocre on half the tracks and Suzuka was one of their better tracks where they hoped to claw something back.

Anyway - if I was Kimi - I would have maliciously done the tyre slicing and the Q3 spoiling in my stride as sweet revenge on the red fiefdom. LOL just kidding!

surprisingly, Italian "Autosprint" mag took Kimi’s side in the accident with Alonso

If you look at the incident frame-by-frame it is hard not to conclude that Fred wanted to end Kimi's race on the grass (there is at least 2 car width room on the right side- starting from the pirelli billboard - all the way to the outer racing line for T1 which is not even usable during the start in any case), and it looks to me like Kimi did lift a bit to prevent a bigger accident. He kept on pushing Kimi when he did not have to because even at the point of contact he had plenty of room on the right but he probably knew Kimi would drive defensively when some idiot pushes him that far, so he kept on pushing... In other words, he would not have done the same move - testing his luck - with other drivers like Gro, Ham, Perez...in the same start in place of Kimi. He banked on Kimi staying clean as much as possible, which he did.

As smart and political calculator as he is, my guess is, he wanted to proactively play the victim by blaming Kimi so as to not to get into a penalty situation. Racing incident? yea, maybe for Stevie Wonder...

Alright, after Monza I said I will rule Kimi's WDC chances out only after I've seen the DDRS in action. I admit I didn't expect it to be such a big failure.

But you know what the thing with high hopes is - they always die last. So I'd say I'll give him a last call and will officially rule the WDC out if the updates fail in Korea ;) Until then it's game on for me. Go Go Go Kimster!

WHAT DO YOU DO TO LEARN A NEW CIRCUIT?I drive it. I know some drivers work hard in simulators to learn a new circuit, but they are not for me. I have never played the Playstation or spent too much time in the simulator and it doesn’t seem to have affected my performance in the past.

I disagree,i think Lewis has a lot of respect for kimi's close quater racecraft

Thats only because he came out in the lead in the end. If he did not manage to pull this out he would not express such admiration publicly. Same as Alonso. Praises only the ones he beat or the ones he does not consider as serious threat.

Thats only because he came out in the lead in the end. If he did not manage to pull this out he would not express such admiration publicly. Same as Alonso. Praises only the ones he beat or the ones he does not consider as serious threat.

Having respect for it, and being willing to take things so close on track, is different from praising it publicly. It's what he does, not what he says that's revealing.